The text of the powerful O solitude, my sweetest choice is by Katherine Philips, known as the "matchless Orinda." It appeared in the fourth book of the anthology The Theater of Music in 1686. (Some writers have given the date of composition as 1687, but this is after the publication date.)

The ground bass was not new when Purcell began composing; in fact, it was somewhat old-fashioned. He may have used the device as often as he did because he found it challenging. Repeated bass patterns, especially if they are diatonic, limit the harmonic exploration of a piece, and Purcell succeeded in breaking through this barrier on many occasions, most successfully in O solitude. In other songs, such as Now that the sun hath veiled his light and Music for a while, Purcell transposes the ground bass in order to modulate.

In O solitude, Purcell circumvents the modulation problem with a method he used in several other instances. By creating melodic phrases that do not close when the ground bass cadences, it is possible to create a cadence on an intermediate note of the ground and thus modulate. The ground bass of O solitude, in C minor, rises from C natural to A flat before a close on C minor. By cadencing on the third and sixth notes of the ground bass, Purcell takes the song through E flat major, F minor, G minor, and A flat major. In the large scheme of things, the song never leaves C minor, but the emphases on different harmonies for brief moments create a rich sound that avoid the potential monotony of a ground-bass piece.

Purcell had used the same ground in the introductory symphony to his verse anthem, In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust, Z. 16, of c.1682. This is unusual, because Purcell rarely used the ground bass in his anthems.

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